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What is Rhetorical about Digital Rhetoric? Perspectives and Definitions of Digital Rhetoric is an article published in 2015 by Justin Hodgson and Scot Barnett about their experience hosting a Symposium at the University of Indiana on Digital Rhetoric. While the panel brought upon many interesting and creative ways on viewing digital rhetoric, there seemed to be no clear definition on the term. I found this to be quite interesting as the article later on explained that this is due to “digital rhetoric” being evolutionary and adapting alongside digital life and the everchanging dynamics within those fields. I was quite taken away by the video in the article in which many experts and scholars were puzzled and unresponsive when asked to define “digital rhetoric.”  

As the authors and other scholars at the Symposium gained insight and learned much more about digital rhetoric and its transformative meaning over time, there were still many questions left to answer. Ultimately, digital rhetoric can be defined in one way, as an art that is rooted in contingent matters and states of affairs and thus will be ever changing. The authors reflect and conclude that like its ancient origin, to study digital rhetoric is to understand rhetoric and how it is a strategic way of expression in which a “rhetorician” addresses specific concepts and delivers impressive persuasion over the matters and topics being discussed.

The article was published in 2015 but just three years prior in 2012, digital rhetoric was defined or labeled as “multimodal composing”, “digital writing”, “new media studies”, “digital media”, “digital humanities”, “computers and composition”, and “computers and writing.” The word and term “digital rhetoric” has many vocabulary boundaries and multimodal divisions that when brought together, paint an overall picture and give purpose to its meaning.

It is now 2019 and social media platforms and digital media as a whole, rule and influence everyday life. This advanced composition class for example, relies on our ability as students to express ourselves through multi-modal digital means on a social media platform. Tumblr is just one example of how rhetoric has been applied over the creation of software and how computers are algorithmically developed to translate code into meaning, persuasion, and expression. Ironically, all of those programs are created for its organic users to express themselves and to persuade others. As technology advances and continues to develop, so will the meaning of digital rhetoric and thus continue the never-ending study and research of its definition.

I used this Visual GIF of the transformative appreciation of art throughout time as it reflects and represents how Digital Rhetoric will be viewed differently as life and technology continues to culturally adapt and change. I used text to write down my summarized thoughts on the article and to explain myself to my fellow peers.